China creates new rules for purchasing agricultural products

New rules from the GACC, the General Administration of Customs of China, came into force from this Monday (June 1st). The new Decree No. 280 replaces Decree No. 248 and changes the registration rules for foreign companies that export food to the Asian country.

The measure also reformulates the functioning of the CIFER (China Import Food Enterprises Registration) digital platform and changes the list of controlled products.

Some commodities and basic agricultural products will no longer need to go through a bureaucratic registration process in China. They go to a different phytosanitary quarantine system: fresh vegetables and dried beans, oilseeds, unroasted coffee and cocoa beans.

A list of products classified as "risk and high risk" was also created. These will require an official recommendation from the competent authorities in the country of origin before the customs administration will grant registration.

There are 17 categories:

Meat and meat products

Guts

Bird's nests and derivatives

Beekeeping products

Eggs and egg products

Dairy products

Aquatic products (fish and fishery products excluding live aquatic animals)

Edible oils and fats

Stuffed wheat products

Edible cereals

Grain and malt milling industry products

Dehydrated vegetables

Powdered condiments

Nuts and seeds

Dried fruits

Foods for dietary purposes

Healthy foods

Most registrations are renewed automatically, every 5 years, without bureaucracy. Except for beef, pork, poultry and their products that remain with active manual renewal. China extended the deadline for the sector to request renewal, from up to 6 months to up to 12 months before expiration. In practice it increases time, but it also requires more planning.

For market analysts, leaving meat out of automatic renewal and within "high risk" products signals that China wants more control and traceability.

Source: CNN